StoryStudio Insights

How Content Marketing Strategies Differ Between B2B and B2C Companies

Written by StoryStudio | May 21, 2019 7:19:10 AM

Depending on whether your business model is B2B or B2C, your marketing strategy should be optimized for the different challenges and goals that come with.

Let’s start by defining the terms and understanding the different sales strategies each requires. 

B2B.

B2B stands for “business-to-business” and refers to commercial transactions targeting companies and bulk buyers. Profit potential, a focus on being cost-effective, and the desire to stay competitive is often what drives a B2B buyer to make a purchase. In a B2B system, businesses make buying decisions on profit potential as well as costs. This is different from B2C marketing, which targets individual consumers and potential customers.  

The obvious advantage of B2B sales is the potential for a large volume of sales. An individual (B2C) consumer will purchase a few items. However, B2B sales can involve a national clothing company or chain ordering 10,000 of the same shirt. As Honey Sing, #ARM Worldwide co-founder, notes, "Manufacturers and companies would have lost a very lucrative sales pattern if B2B never existed."


This volume shapes B2B marketing strategies, making them quite different from those of a B2C plan. Because an individual shopper does not buy a lot of product, not a lot of financial risk is attached to the transaction. A B2C buyer will conduct less research than a B2B buyer, who cannot afford to make an uninformed or impulse decision. In a B2B transaction, thousands of items can be purchased, making the B2B transaction potentially more costly and riskier for the B2B buyer, who has to do a lot of research and trusting before forking over money.  

As a result, the B2B sales process is longer. The B2B buyer will need more information from you about your product or service than the typical B2C buyer. A purchase from a B2B buyer may mean the beginning of a long-term sales relationship. 

B2C.

In comparison, B2C — "business-to-consumer” — selling is quite different. A B2C sales representative, for example, would be selling someone a car, gym membership, or luxury item. With B2C brands, marketers target potential individual consumers — not major companies who need to make bulk purchases. 

The majority of B2C goods are typically at lower price points, at lower volume, and require only one or two decision makers.

So how does all this affect how a business approaches marketing?

If you are involved in B2B transactions, you will want to be very specific in approaching your lead pool size, which is much smaller than a B2C lead pool.

B2B marketers are hyper-focused on how they reach their customers and the messaging they use in their marketing materials, as their customers tend to be more selective about the products or services they purchase. This is because they will be buying large volumes of items or signing expensive contracts, and one bad deal could result in losing a significant amount of money or a lost job.

A successful B2B content marketing strategy fosters brand trust by establishing the brand’s good reputation and alleviating consumer anxieties about making the wrong purchasing decision. According to Marketing Profs, 71% of B2B marketers use content marketing to generate leads. 

On the other hand, if you are in B2C sales, your content marketing strategy could potentially be to reach millions of people able to make impulse purchases. Many B2C customers can make buying decisions without any substantial financial risk. 

Content marketing calls for creativity.

With B2C content, marketers have the opportunity to reach and engage with their customers directly through social media, websites and blog postings, storefronts, influencer partnerships and events, and more.

Content marketing calls for creativity, with 45% of B2C marketers believing visual content is their most important type of content, and 76% of B2C marketers using video content in general according to CMI.

Among the “most successful” B2C marketers, 59% use a content marketing strategy, and among B2B marketers, 62% employ a content marketing strategy (CMI). Having a plan in place that uses tactics designed for your target audience is the best way for both B2C and B2B marketers to reach their desired audience.